Aptitude, learner control, and adaptive instruction

Abstract

‘'Learner control'’ refers to the proposal that learners will benefit if given more control over the pace or style of instruction they receive. It is often assumed that providing increased learner control will “accommodate”; individual differences. This article argues that such a view is naive. It is argued that research on learner control will benefit from (a) avoidance of reference to panacea, (b) basic work on a detailed taxonomy of the various forms learner control might take, and (c) a substantial review of related research which, while not labelled “learner control,”; has implications for the educational benefits that can be expected from giving learners control of certain aspects of instruction. Research examples are used to explicate these suggestions. It is concluded that no form of individualization of instruction, including learner control, has yet been shown to erase the relevance of prior individual differences to learning from instruction.